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Wow! Springtime is here, it’s time to Barbecue

I can’t believe how beautiful the weather has been here, yesterday our temps were in the (high 70’s for my American friends) or mid to high 20’s for the rest of us. In fact, we have had so little rain here in the last few weeks that some of the grass is already going brown.

As you can see from the picture above, we have had blue skies without even a hint of cloud (and yes, that is my home, with the open garage, we are right across from the playground.) So, I can’t think of anything better to do in this weather than to Barbecue (Yeah! Someone else does the cooking!!!) My recipes today are for the barbecue, but I have to tell you up front, I don’t have any pictures of them, we haven’t done them this year yet, we have been focusing mainly on homemade burgers (check the recipe tab for the recipe).

Today I have for you (and please don’t flinch, there are quite a few steps but everything is really easy):

BBQ PLUM CHICKEN WITH ASIAN NOODLES

AND ASPARAGUS

1 lb (450 gms) of Spaghetti Noodles, or those Fat Asian Noodles if you can get them

1/4 Cup Chicken broth

1 Tbsp Honey

1 Tbsp Hoisin Sauce (I’m not a great fan of Hoisin sauce, so I only put a little, but if you like it, by all means, increase the amount)

2 Tbsp Parsley, finely chopped

Asparagus Stalks (enough to feed your family, for me that is one whole bunch from the grocery store)

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat BBQ to medium temp

Take chicken thighs out of the package and stretch them out on a baking sheet covered in tin foil (I spray the tin foil with Pam or whatever cooking spray you have, if you don’t have cooking spray lightly oil the tin foil)

Salt and pepper the thighs lightly (they are going to have a fairly strong sauce on them, so don’t overdo it)

Take the chicken thighs to the pre heated BBQ and lifting the tin foil carefully, place it on the grill (the reason you use tin foil under the chicken is to prevent flare ups that will have your chicken black on the outside and raw on the inside, this way they cook evenly)

Put water on to boil for the noodles.

Make up the sauce using the Plum Sauce, Soy Sauce, Apricot Jam, Thai Sweet Chili Sauce, ginger, lemon juice, and cornstarch mixed with the water. (you are going to be basting the chicken with this and then pouring over in the last few minutes)

Prepare the Asparagus (if you haven’t done this before, what you do is take a stalk of the Asparagus and gripping it at the thick end and the middle, slowly bend it until it snaps. Where it snaps is where you cut the rest of the stalks off. By the way, don’t throw out the part of the stalks that you cut off, put them in a bag and throw them in the freezer to put in the pot next time you are making chicken or vegetable stock)

After the chicken has been on for about ten minutes, baste it with some of the sauce, and then every five minutes after that until it’s done, about 35 minutes.

Make up the sauce for the noodles using the Chicken broth, Honey, and Hoisin sauce

Place the Asparagus in a microwave safe dish and add about a Tbsp. of water, then using either watered down parchment paper (you just run it under the tap for a second and then crumple it up), or a plate, cover the Asparagus and place in to the microwave ready to be turned on when its time. (If you wanted to fancy up the Asparagus, you could zest the lemon before you squeezed the juice out for the chicken sauce, and chop up a little garlic, sprinkling both on top of the Asparagus before you covered it up

When there is about 10 minutes left on the chicken throw the noodles into the pot or read the directions on your package and use it’s time recommendation.

When there is 10 minutes left on the chicken, you can take what remains of the sauce and pour it over the chicken and let it cook for a further 10 minutes.

Drain the noodles and put them back in the pot, pour the sauce of Chicken broth, honey, and Hoisin sauce over and stir

Pull the chicken off and let sit for about five minutes.

While the Chicken is resting, turn the microwave on high for 3 minutes and cook the Asparagus.

Serve up the Chicken, Noodles, and Asparagus either family style on a big platter (although I can’t think of a reason for dirtying another dish unless this is for company HaHa!) or on individual plates (which makes more sense to me) and dive in.

I know you are going to love this one.

The second recipe today is so easy, you might just wonder what you need me for:

BBQ PORK RIBS WITH GRILLED VEGETABLES

INGREDIENTS

3-4 lbs of Pork Ribs (The amount really depends on how many are in your family or how many people you plan on feeding, adjust the quantity as needed, this one serves 4 large portions) (My daughter and I eat much less than my husband and son do, so this could probably feed six or seven normal appetites)

1-2 Cups of Ketchup

1/2 Cup Brown Sugar

1/4 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar

2 Cloves if Garlic, minced fine

1 Onion, very finely chopped (I use my food processor)

2 Tbsp of Worcestershire Sauce

1 tsp Cumin

1 tsp Oregano

1 1/2 tsp chili flakes

1/2 Cup Chicken Stock

1/2 Cup Water

3-4 Corn on the Cob (I know its not Corn time yet, but you can get it in the supermarket) cut into three

Either the night before or the morning of, chop the ribs into 2 or 3 rib portions and put in a very big bowl or bucket.

Add all the ingredients down to the water, into the bowl or bucket

Put in the fridge and let sit overnight or all day

When you are ready to start dinner, turn the BBQ on to medium

Pull each portion of rib out of the bowl or bucket and place on the grill when its ready

Turn the ribs every couple of minutes to keep the sauce from burning on the outside

Take the remains of the sauce that they were marinating in and pour into a pot, heat it thoroughly (bring to a boil and let boil for a couple of minutes, stirring constantly) and then turn down the heat to low or take off the heat and cover.

Put all the vegetables on a couple of long sheets of foil in a pile in the centre or into a grill basket lined with foil, if you have one. Pour over a couple of Tbsp of olive oil, the Italian Seasoning, and some salt and pepper to taste.

Roll the tin foil up into a pouch.

When the ribs are done, place them on a platter or plate and cover with foil so they can rest for a few minutes.

Once the ribs are off the grill, take the foil package with the veggies and throw it on the grill or take the grill basket and place on the grill, for about 10 – 15 minutes (if using the grill basket, turn a few times during the 1-15 minutes)

Once the veggies are done, you can serve them alongside the ribs on the platter or plate and don’t forget to pour the extra sauce over the ribs, or let your family put as much on as they would like.

I usually have a baguette sliced up or buns to go with it to soak up the sauce (Right about now, my husband is going “Ewwww”, he hates soggy bread)

DESSERT

Now, I’m assuming that you probably made this for your family, before trying it out on company (duh, you think), so you will probably need a quick and easy dessert to go with it.

For those days that are quite hot or when its raining like crazy and you want something to lift your spirits, what could be better than an Ice Cream Sandwich. I’m not talking about one of those ones that you can buy, I’m talking about the kind that you can make at home using Chocolate Chip Cookies as the outsides.

This is so easy, I’m not even calling it a recipe. You take your ice cream out of the fridge about half an hour before you get started on dinner, let it soften up for about 10-15 minutes and then using a scoop, put a scoop of the softened ice cream on a Chocolate Chip Cookie, then taking another cookie, slowly squish the ice cream down (slowly!!!! or there will be a big mess) and place them on a baking sheet. Once you have enough for the whole family, then put the tray into the freezer, get dinner ready, and when you are ready for dessert, Voila!! it’s ready for you.

I hope you liked today’s recipes (and non recipe). If you give these a try, let me know how you liked them, I am always thrilled when I hear from someone. Sign up on the Contact me page, and you will never miss a post.

By the way, if you don’t like something that is in the recipes, remember you can always switch things out to things that you do love. Oh, and if you haven’t done it yet, click on the picture of the Mini Cookbook and it will take you to where you can download it. It comes with the grocery list you will need for it as well.

Take care and I will talk to you tomorrow.

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About Barojenty

I am a 59-year-old Wife and Mother to two adult children that I am extremely proud of. They turned out to be wonderful human beings and lucky me, I still have one at home.
I am a Badass cook, a Mum to a three-year-old Dachshund male named Willie and a almost one-year-old Dashchund female named Bailey. I have a chronic illness that prevents me from working outside my home. I love taking care of my home and family and even though I need help from hubby now and then I try not to let my illness keep me from doing anything I want.